


Natsu

by QueenPotatos



Category: Free!
Genre: M/M, Slow Burn, The story is set in south of France, This is summer holiday AU, i'll try, where the boys spent time together
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-07
Updated: 2018-09-15
Packaged: 2019-07-08 07:35:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15925823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenPotatos/pseuds/QueenPotatos
Summary: “We might spend a lot of time with them, if you agree of course. Asahi’s got a car, we could travel a bit in the area, see the waterfalls and do some hiking. Rin knows the place by heart, he would be a good guide if he can come with us.”“Is that Rin as noisy as the others?”It’s weird that Makoto takes so much time to reply. When Haru looks at him to know why there’s a rare kind of smile on his face. “Rin is…Rin. He’s different. You’ll see for yourself, but he’s definitely not like anyone else I know.”Haru frowns. What does he mean by that?“Don’t take it badly! You’re kind of unique too. In your own way.”Haru sends him a pillow before going back to the garden. He sits in the hammock for an hour or so and falls asleep, lulled by the cicada’s songs and the summer heat.





	1. I

**Author's Note:**

> I started this in the middle of summer, thinking I could finish it before it's over and I closed my eyes a second and it's already September. Times flies.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

The sun hits his pale limbs, swore muscles after a whole afternoon spent in the water. Haru isn’t sleeping but likes to pretend he is so the others leave him in peace. Makoto and the twins are running around him. There’s also noise coming from the lake. People are jumping in the clear water he had just left, swimming, laughing. Everything feels so alive yet so immobile in the middle of summer. Haru wishes he could freeze time at this very moment, when there’s drops of water that haven’t dried on his skin that cool his heat when a gush of air flirts with the rocks and leaves. That’s probably why he lies, still, and pretends to be asleep.

 

“Oi.”

 

A gust of wind brings an end to his moment of respite. Haru frowns before opening his eyes, he can’t pretend to be asleep since the boy called him twice already.

 

The boy stands next to his head, his hands on his hips. He looks like an early teen just like him. He wears a Bermuda and a white T shirt tainted with drops of water that come from his wet hair. There are two girls waiting behind him a little further.

 

“What do you want?” Haru asks him.

 

“I saw you swim.” The boy says.

 

“And so?” Is this why he had been disturbed for?

 

“So?! Why aren’t you in the water?” The boy looks offended. “You’re amazing. Are you one of the lake’s creatures? A fish turned into a human to eat us at night?”

 

Haru’s frown deepens as he sits upright to take a good look on the boy’s face. There’s something different about him, he can tell. “Fishes don’t turn into man. They don’t want to be. Only a man thinks everything wants to be a man.”

 

The boy chuckles, “You’re speaking like an old man. Can you swim with me?”

 

“When?” Haru looks at the girls behind the boy’s back. “Now?”

 

The boy mimics him and makes a face when he sees the older woman showing him her watch. “Ah! Not today I’m afraid, my sister has an appointment; but next day? Will you be here?”

 

Haru shrugs. Why not. They aren’t doing anything else these days; the middle of August in the south of France is too hot for everything except sleeping and swimming. Makoto’s parents brought them to the lake every day this week, watching them play around while they play cards or take a nap under a tree.

 

The boy looks delighted. It barely costs Haru some energy since he practically lives in the water anyway.

 

“Great! See you tomorrow then? What’s your name by the way?”

 

Haru gets on his feet. He sees Makoto watching over him from the corner of his eyes. “Haruka, but call me Haru.”

 

The boy smiles, “It’s funny, you have a girly name just like me. It’s fate! We’re going to be friends!”

 

“Oh you too? My friend Makoto also has a girly name. What’s yours?”

 

The boy opens his mouth. Haru’s gaze is stuck on his lips.

 

The road becomes irregular the more they reach the Calanque. A pothole makes the car shakes and takes Haru out of his light sleep. Haru stirs his face, stuck on the window to look at the scenery from the back of the car. Makoto is driving, missing the wonderful view of the sea that spread as far as the eyes can see but he probably knows it by heart already.

 

“Are we there yet?” Ren’s legs are swinging, he sits beside Haru and next to his twin sister.

 

“Still a couple of minutes my dear.” Makoto’s mother, on the passenger seat, is on the phone with her husband who has already arrives to prepare the house. “Yes, the sheets are in my grandmother’s room. And the spare bed in the ceiling.”

 

“I can sleep on the floor.” Haru says. He knows they are making extra efforts for him. He’s an unplanned guest after all.

 

“It’s out of the question.” Makoto’s mother turns around to scold him. “If you were still eleven and thin you could have slept with Makoto, but look at you two. You’ve grown so much.”

 

“Makoto’s so big! Bigger than dad!” Ren says.

 

His sister yawls next to him. “Are we there yet?” she asks.

 

“Not yet. Go back to sleep.”

 

Haru watches the scene from the back seat, silently admiring Makoto’s patience. His eyes go back to the sea, calm and shining under the sunrays. Everything changed since the last time he went there about ten years ago, but not the sea, it never will.

 

The ride to the summer house becomes enjoyable after they get into the lands and take the small country roads where one wonders how two cars can fit in. There are hills on one side and precipice on the other, the vegetation took back its right on human creations, with the bright sun the scenery is a real festival of colour – all shades of greens from the trees and plants, ochre and white and grey rocks, yellow and pink flowers growing on the ground and cliffs. It’s amazing how such different sight can coexist so close to each other, so far from the city and the civilization, so far from noise…

 

“Are we there yet?”

 

No wonder why the kids want to get out of the car.

 

 

 

The portal comes into view quicker than expected. Suddenly Haru remembers the path by heart; there’s a turn to the right then a big tree he doesn’t remember the name of where Makoto parks the car. The house hasn’t changed too, or maybe the vines had grown on the walls to the second floor. The shutters are closed to prevent the heat from coming in. It’s almost 35°C already and they haven’t reached noon yet.

 

Haru feels like melting when Makoto turns out the air conditioner. 

 

“Are we going to the lake?”

 

He doesn’t understand why it’s so funny, he feels like dying. “Perhaps? If you insist. We need to settle down first and help father at bit. We bought an inflatable pool a couple of years ago.”

 

Ren and Ran hurl to the back of the house where they find their dad busy with the said pool.

 

“Children…take your trunks before running to dad.” Their mother scolds them but takes their bag nonetheless.

 

Haru just took his sports bag. He figured out if he needs anything he didn’t think was necessary he’ll just borrow Makoto some or buy something there. If he remembers correctly, the village is just a couple of minute away by bike, and so is the lake; but he’ll need the car to swim in the sea.

 

“Haru, you coming?”

 

Makoto takes him out of his reverie. “Ha.”

 

He doesn’t want to stay in the heat anyway.

 

The house is still fresh from the morning breeze thanks to the shutters being closed and its thick walls. The place is just like Haru remembered: there’s a long corridor with the first guest room on the right, leading to the Provençal kitchen with an opening to the garden. On the left, another corridor with two more bedrooms and the living room. On the second floor there are two more rooms and the bathrooms. That’s where Makoto and him will sleep.

 

Makoto’s dad brings them there. “There’s a Velux, so don’t forget to close it as soon as the sun rises and open it during the night if you don’t want to suffocate. It’s really getting hot this year. Beware of bees and mosquitos and any other insects-“

 

Haru can hear Makoto swallow loudly behind him.

 

“In the cupboard there’s a small fan, he’s noisy but can be handy. Lunch is ready whenever you are. I made a salad, nothing too extraordinary I’m afraid.”

 

“Did you cook mackerel?”

 

“Haru…”

 

“I’m afraid I didn’t! But we’ll go to the marker next morning. Do you want to come with us? We’ll get up early.”

 

Haru accepts the invitation. Going to the marker means going to the sea, smelling his scent, listening to the sound of waves crashing on the shore…Haru feels he needs it like breathing fresh air.

 

They change into more comfortable clothes and flip flops before joining everyone in the living room. From the French windows Haru can see the pool isn’t inflated yet. This might prevent them from going to the lake.

 

“So? How was your first drive in the country?”

 

“It was a little bit stressful I have to admit,” Makoto tells his father. “I never thought the road would be so narrow and climbing.”

 

“Don’t be so hard on yourself,” his mother passes him the salad bowl. “You did well! Tell him, Haruka. He only listens to you.”

 

“You did well. I could sleep without any afterthought thanks to you smooth driving skills.”

 

“Ha-Haru! Don’t mock me!”

 

“I’m not.”

 

“You woke up when we left the main road!”

 

Oh, that’s true. He was sleeping, he was dreaming…what was he dreaming about? His memory is foggy, somehow he wishes he could remember what it was.

 

 

 

After lunch the twins went for a nap while their parents were having a cup of coffee on the terrace, protected by the sunrays with straw hats under the pergola. Makoto and Haru are in charge of the pool. It’s ridiculously small but Haru suspected they bought it for the twins – Makoto doesn’t fit in there since maybe 3 or 4 years. When they finish inflated it Haru let Makoto fill it with water and sits under a tree under the shadows of its leaves. He closes his eyes, listen to the sounds of animals, cicadas, birds of all kind. It’s so peaceful. He breathes in pure air from the country.

 

It truly feels like summer holidays. A distortion in time and space.

 

“Haru! We have visitors.”

 

Haru curses Makoto for a moment before joining him in the kitchen. There are two boys around their ages he had never seen before.

 

“Haru, let me introduce you to my friends.”

 

Oh, that’s right. Haru assumes after coming her for a month each summer Makoto would have make friends with other boys.

 

“I’m Asahi.” The first one says. He’s wearing an awful Hawaiian red shirt and blueish Bermuda.

 

“And I’m Kisumi, Makoto told us a lot about you! We’re glad to see you finally in person.”

 

The Kisumi guy asks for a handshake, he looks overly excited for meeting him; Haru sends Makoto a questioning glare but there’s nothing he’s able to read on his face. He wonders what he told them.

 

“So, how long have you known each other?” Asahi asks him.

 

“Didn’t he tell you?” Haru looks at Makoto a frown in his face. He’s not making the talk in front of people he barely knows.

 

“Since kindergarten I think. We’ve been lucky to be in the same school since then.”

 

“Oh, that’s right you come from the same little city near Paris?”

 

Makoto nods. “We were practically neighbours.”

 

“Ah! I wish I could live near Paris!” Kisumi sighs. “There’s so many place to go, cinema, bars, so many different people.”

 

“You do live here?” Haru inquires.

 

“Not really, we both come from small town in Province.” Asahi replies. “I’m from Bretagne and he’s from Alsace. I come here to see the sun a little bit each summer.”

 

“Don’t you miss the rain?”

 

“Of course I do! The ocean too. See, the waves are nothing alike, the smell and sight are different too…but my father is from that area. We’re staying in my grandparents’ house all summer.”

 

“For my part, my dad has German’s roots, and it seems to be a tradition to go the Mediterranean sea each summer.”Kisumi says. “It’s genetic, I think. So he bought a house just next to Asahi’s in the village. We just arrived three days ago.”

 

“Have you seen Rin yet?” Makoto asks his friends.

 

“Yes! He’s working though. Got a summer job before leaving. We saw him cleaning the streets with my sister and Kisumi just yesterday. He looks quite alright!”

 

“We need to meet up, all of us, in memory of the good time. After all, we maybe won’t have another chance.” Kisumi says.

 

“Why are you saying that?” Haru can see they all kind of have a sad look on their faces.

 

“Oh, it’s just, Rin is a local, another part of the gang,” Kisumi tells him. “The guy is quite something, when he has decided something…he’s flying to Australia in September, to work and live here for a couple of years so we’re a little bit sad we won’t see him again for some time.”

 

“Let’s organize our summer then! I’ll ask for his agenda. How long are you two staying? Six weeks like always?”

 

Haru puts his chin in the palm of his hand, watching old friends catching time, asking him a couple of question from time to time. His gaze easily flees to the garden and the pool, the blue sky and the oppressive heat. Just by looking he knows he’s going to melt if he puts a foot outside. He can’t wait to go to the lake and feel the water on his skin.

 

 

 

The boys stay until air becomes breathable outside, then take their bikes and go back to the village, with the promise of meeting tomorrow same hour. Haru is happy, because he can see Makoto is glad to have seen them. If they are all good friends, he can make an effort.

 

“How many more friends do you have? Are they all so noisy?”

 

“Ah sorry about that! I never thought they’d be there so early…since you came with us so suddenly I didn’t have time to warm them, or you. They are nice guys I promise.”

 

“I figure. They look like good friends.” And Haru means it despite feeling a little bit off with their personality still.

 

“We might spend a lot of time with them, if you agree of course. Asahi’s got a car, we could travel a bit in the area, see the waterfalls and do some hiking. Rin knows the place by heart, he would be a good guide if he can come with us.”

 

“Is that Rin as noisy as the others?”

 

It’s weird that Makoto takes so much time to reply. When Haru looks at him to know why there’s a rare kind of smile on his face. “Rin is…Rin. He’s different. You’ll see for yourself, but he’s definitely not like anyone else I know.”

 

Haru frowns. What does he mean by that?

 

“Don’t take it badly! You’re kind of unique too. In your own way.”

 

Haru sends him a pillow before going back to the garden. He sits in the hammock for an hour or so and falls asleep, lulled by the cicada’s songs and the summer heat.

 

 

 

 

 

 


	2. II

 

* * *

 

 

 

The stirring sound of a mosquito flying too close to his ear wakes him up in a start. Haru kills the intruder at first try. Too late, there’s blood on his hands, he’d been stuck already.

The Velux is opened to let fresh air come in. The sky is still dark, it must not be dawn yet. Haru sits up; Makoto’s still sleeping next to him, soundlessly. He doesn’t want to wake him up, but going back to sleep and not enjoying the rare moment of coolness would be the stupidest thing to do. He’ll take a nap later.

At the end of his bed Haru takes his bag. There are all his essential stuff – clothes, swimsuit, that’s pretty it – and at the very bottom some notebooks. One for his sketches, and one...

Haru takes the second one. It’s a red notebook, no larger than a regular book, destined to be his diary. Haru opens the first page.

7th of July. Nothing. He doesn’t know what to say anymore.

Haru goes back to his first notebook with special paper made for aquarelle drawings. That’s when he realizes he forgot his aquarelle pencils and his brushes. How foolish of him…it’s not something he can easily find in the middle of nowhere.

He hits his head with the notebook. He really needs to get his shit together before the end of summer.

It’s 6 am when he hears the Tachibana waking up. They weren’t kidding when they said they will get up early.

Makoto’s father is drinking his coffee on the terrace again.

“Boys, you forgot to cover the pool.”

Indeed they are now a dozen of dead bees and other insects floating inside, as well as leaves and pollens. Haru takes a small net and cleans the pool until the coffee is finished. They are going to the harbour.

“So early?”

Makoto’s father nods. “There’s nothing like going to the fishing market early. You’ll see. It will change your mind a bit.”

They drive to Cassis in silence. Haru keeps looking at the sky, at the rare clouds coloured in pink with the sunrise. He really wished he had taken his aquarelle with him. He takes a low quality picture with his phone, afraid he might forget what he saw.

“Do you want to stop to take pictures? We’re not in a hurry.”

“No it’s fine. You told me it’s better to come in the market earlier.”

“But the marker would still be here in a couple of minute. The clouds, this sight…you might never see it again.”

Haru gazes at the clouds. They are already different from the ones in his pictures. Life is always in movement.

“…It’s fine.”

Sometimes it’s not, but for today it will do.

 

He never thought there would be so many people at this hour of the day. It’s not even seven and the market is filled with fishermen and probably some cooks looking for fresh products. Haru stops in the middle of an aisle to smell the scent of fresh fishes and salt. He closes his eyes. Life is moving but some things always stay the same.

When he opens his eyes though it seems life hasn’t been the only moving object; he’s alone, and lost sight of Makoto’s father. No matter how much he calls for him only strangers looks back at him. It’s not that bad though, he can go back to the car anytime he wants if he’s tired of looking for him.

He observes the stands and the fishermen shouting louder than the others to sell their products. Everything looks amazing and delicious, freshly fished from the sea that lays just a couple of meters away. He buys enough fish for lunch and looks for other stands to decide what he could cook the mackerels with. Once his purchase is done and Haru is happy with himself, he considers going back to the car and wait for Makoto’s father but something’s calling him. The sea, its scent, the waves…he’s so close, and even if he can’t swim in it yet he could pay his regards and promise he’ll come back later.

The rest of the town is deadly silent. Every living soul is gathered in the market place, leaving the narrow streets and squares empty. Haru leaves his senses guide him to his long time darling only to find out someone stole his date.

Most of the people he’s seen in the market were men aged like Makoto’s father but this guy here, watching the sea from the pier looks like a teen. He has his hands inside the souvenir jacket he owns, a black and white one with a majestic crane on his back surrounding by a few branches of pink flowers. Despite behind in the middle of a heatwave the boy’s wearing a pair of jeans, torn on his thighs and knees, probably on purpose, with a pair of white sneakers. His face is feminine, with almond shape eyes and long dark eyelashes, a delicate and short nose that betrays his origins. Haru can tell he’s not a hundred per cent Asian though, a metis perhaps? That would explain why his hair has a very unique kind of dye wine colour – he even dyed his eyebrows to match his bangs.

But what stuns Haru most about the boy isn’t his looks, but what emanates from him. He’s looking at the sea with such a force and determination, as if he was defying it, challenging it with the force of a hundred waves behind his back. The sun illuminates the harbour in such a way that the light just hits the part of the pier where the boy stands. It’s fascinating. Haru looks at the sky, there are still clouds moving, threatening to obscure the pier once more. It’s a sight he’d never see again if he’s not quick enough. He takes out his phone to take a picture, immortalizing this instant of grace for further reference, hoping he’ll have the talent to put on his notebooks half of the strength he felt from the scenery.

To his horror, when he looks at the picture he’s just taken the boy is looking back at him.

Haru feels like he’d been punched in the guts. His eyes are so intense, his glare so heavy, threatening; he interrupted a very private moment between the boy and the sea and Haru can only understand how unpleasant it feels. Shame makes him put his phone back in his pocket without a second look, he took back his purchase and runs to the car where Makoto’s father is waiting for him in panic.

“Where were you? I looked for you, everywhere!”

But Haru can’t hear him. His heart is beating too fast in his ears.

Makoto isn’t even awake when they come back. Haru directly goes to their room and takes his notebooks and the single pen he brought. Even if it’s only a rough sketches he wants to draw what he had just seen – the clouds, the sea, the market, and him.

It’s hard to look at the picture he took of the boy. He can still feel his stomach ache when he looks at his face.

 

When Makoto finally gets into the kitchen to have breakfast Haru is playing with the twins in the inflated pool, or rather he lies on the whole length of the pool with his sunglasses and a straw hat he stole – probably Makoto’s – and a glass of Pulco in his hands while Ren and Ran spray water on his torso. Makoto yawns, takes a bottle of orange juice from the fridge and some cereals. He sits next to his mother who’s making crosswords.

“Sleep well my boy?”

“Not enough,” Makoto says while yawning again. “It was too hot. I think I already got eaten by mosquitos.”

“Be careful. They say there are tiger mosquitos this year in the area.”

She waits for her son to fully wake up before starting the conversation again – approximatively after he finishes his second bowl of cereals.

“So, Haruka and your father went to the market this morning to buy fresh fish.”

“Ah!? Really? Already? But it’s only 11!”

Haru raises his glass.

“Haruka bought a lot of vegetable. Zucchinis and aubergines. He’ll cook a tian for lunch with some fishes.”

“Let me guess. Mackerel?”

Haru turns around to face his friend. “I also took some salmon, so don’t complain.”

“I was not complaining!”

He sighs when he saw Haru chose to ignore him.

While they are busy preparing lunch Makoto uses that time to avoid any chores by staying in the shower longer than needed and taking his time to choose what he wants to wear – when he really has no choice to make, they are going to the lake with Kisumi and Asahi this afternoon, he just needs his swimming trunks.

His eyes innocently fall on Haru’s drawings – how not to, Haru is extremely talented after all. He sits on his bed and turns the pages. He recognize easily Cassis’ market, can almost smell fishes and the s-

He turns the page to Haru last drawing.

“…Could it be…How…?”

 

 

Haru is taking a nap in the hammock when Makoto’s friends arrive. It’s past three. The sun is literally burning everything it hits. Haru hides a laugh when he notices Kisumi already has sunburns on his cheeks and arms.

They go to the garage to take their bikes only to find Haru’s a bit old and the tires flat. In the end he takes Ren’s, it’s small but it’s better than no bike at all and no bike means no lake. He craves for water more than for pride.

“I’ll make sure it’s all new when you come back.” Makoto’s father says.

“What are you going to do today?” Makoto asks his mother.

“We’re going to visit some friends, they have a kid the same age our little monsters. We will maybe eat dinner there, so if you want to stay in the village late you can.”

Makoto waits for Haru’s approval before sharing the plan with Asahi and Kisumi. They all look delighted.

Kisumi takes his phone from his pocket. “I’m sending Rin a message. I’m sure he’s gonna be thrilled. He was kinda sad that he’s working today.”

“Isn’t he working at the lake today?” Makoto asks.

“Yes, but you know, he’s doing all the small work so he won’t have a lot of free time to spent with us. We’ll catch up tonight! Asahi, you’re in charge of the beers!”

“Why me!?”

“You know why!”

Hopefully the ride to the lake is overall shady, a small path under the trees, so that when they arrive they don’t look like breathless dripping pink shrimps. With tinier wheels Haru had to bike faster to catch their speed but it’s definitely not why his heartbeat accelerates the more they get closer to their goal. He knew he had dreamed of the lake before coming, he doesn’t know why yet.

They park their bikes at the entrance and run to the lake. Not a lot had changed within the years. The lake is made into the rock, with a small beach and a lot of fun spot to jump in the water from a couple of meters high. The vegetation is prettier than in Haru’s memories, or maybe it’s because he’s paying attention now that he’s chosen the artist path. There’s also a boutique that wasn’t there ten years ago, selling ice cream and cold drinks.

It’s still impossibly crowded.

Kisumi finds a spots just under a tree a little bit away from the water, but that will do for now. They took off their shirts and shoes to prepare themselves.

“Don’t forget the sun cream you blondie idiot.”

Asahi spreads tons and tons of cream on his friend’s pristine back. They run to the highest spot to jump after they’re all protected.

“Ready?” Asahi teases them, especially Makoto who’s walking way past behind them. “Ready for the jump of Death!?”

Haru’s just tired of waiting. He passes in front of everyone else and jumps in. Bubbles of air coming from his jump and lungs swim back to the surface when Haru keeps falling lower and lower, until no sound but the voice of water can reach him. He barely notices the other join him – even Makoto, who jumped last, as expected. For the first time since he left Paris his mind is finally empty. No fear, no emotion, no bad thought, no…

Nothing.

It lasts maybe a couple of second. It’s probably the lack of oxygen making trick to his brain, but for a couple of second it seems like Haru’s fuses had short circuited and were started back all new. When he resurfaces thought his senses aren’t any different and he can feel the sun hitting his face just as much.

But these five seconds of respite were exactly why he came here for in first place.

 

Later the three of them are drying on their towel, playing cards.

“Uno!”

“Again? Isn’t it like the fifth time?”

“It’s not my fault Haru forces me to draw two cards each time he plays.” Kisumi scowls.

Makoto is silently listening to them, a sigh he has great chance of winning and Haru is just helping. He has to admit the alchemy between them all works better than in his own dream. Everything is going smooth, each personality balanced the other and on top of everything, they don’t try to make him talk a lot. Probably Makoto’s doing, still, but the fact that they listen to him is enjoyable.

“…Uno?”

“What? Makoto too!?” Asahi still has five cards in his hands and three cost 20 points. At this rate he’s the one who will have to pay for drink after all.

It turns out Kisumi win this turn. He’s savouring his victory and seems to think the whole lake needs to know.

“You shouldn’t be so loud about it,” Asahi mutters. “You know as soon as Rin joins us we’ll have to play his game and goodbye victory.”

“That’s where you’re wrong! See, I’ve thought about it-“

“You, thinking, blondie? Let me laugh.”

The voice came from behind them.  A boy with a black cap on his head, a white Tshirt with the lake logo print on it and white sneakers appears before them. It looks like he works here; he’s got a back half full of trash and a kind of long stick with a pliers at the end of it.

“Insulting first thing in the morning, why am I not surprise, Matsuoka?” Asahi replies.

So they know this guy. Could it be their friends?

“It’s not morning it’s fucking  5 PM and my shift isn’t over until I’ll clean all the shit out of this holy place. Seem I found a big one there.” He grabs Kisumi’s leg with his stick. “Ah, it’s too heavy. I’ll probably need to mechanic digger to take this one out.”

“Cut it out you Asian scum.”

“Be careful of who you’re calling scum when you look like a strawberry-vanilla ice cream.” The boy shoves the pliers just I front of Kisumi’s nose. “Do you want to know what kind of shit I’ve been picking all day? Come on, smell, have a guess.”

Haru can’t take his eyes off of him. The shape of his eyes, the long eyelashes, his face and the wined hair he guesses under the cap…he’s the boy from the pier, and yet at the same time he’s not.

Makoto nudges him. “It’s Rin.” He simply says.

 Rin stops annoying his friend to look back at them. “Makoto! Long time no see!” Rin smiles and put his dangerous weapon aside. “How are you? And your family?” His eyes end up on Haru, fatally. They stay there for a couple of second when Haru feels his stomach aches again. Did he recognize him? And if he did, what would it do anyway?

“Is that the friend you told me about? Haruka, that’s right?”

His voice is warm, it’s seems he didn’t remember their encounter after all. “Haru is fine.”

“Ah, okay. Sorry for the shitty presentation. I’m Rin Matsuoka and I’m terrible at choosing my friends.”

“Do you know we’re like just behind you and can hear everything you say, Jacky Chan.”

Rin faints to kick Asahi in the face but stop just a centimetre away from his face. The kick was so quick and violent that Haru had held his breath until Rin put his foot on the ground.

“You know I’m Japanese, fake Breton. Don’t insult my roots.”

There’s a silent thick as ice and then, he doesn’t know why – god he would have do anything to just know why he did that! – but Haru starts to laugh. It’s nervous more than anything else, but Haru doesn’t laugh a lot to begin with and this is so…inappropriate.

Everybody is looking at him, puzzled, Makoto positively flabbergasted and Rin mostly curious.

“It’s just…I’m sorry but…he calls you Jacky Chan and you reply with some kung fu moves it’s…amusing…”

No one dares to speak until Haru’s nervous laughter is gone. Rin’s eyes are still on him, he can feel them, he’s different now he’s back at the boy from the pier.

“Makoto, you never told me you were friend with a punk.” He spits.

Haru can’t look at him in the eye. He had looked so much younger in the pier but now that he thinks about it Rin must be their ages. He’s intimidating, loud, good in his shoes and there’s also something Haru can’t define, the thing he saw at the pier, the reason why he took a picture of him for.

How did Makoto befriend someone like him?

Just when he thought he had grasped who Rin Matsuoka was, he starts laughing.

Not a sinister laugh, a sincere and happy laugh, the kind of one that leaves him with tears in the corner of his eyes and that make the rest of the gang laugh too.

“God, please, don’t scare Haru like that!” Makoto looks sorry for him, like he’s been part of the prank. “Don’t worry, they are always like that when summer starts.”

“A couple of insult never hurt anyone. It’s a way to show how much I love them.” Rin tells him.

The boy from the pier is gone again. But Haru saw him. He’s definitely somewhere.

“Guys, now that I’ve confess my unconditional love for shits like you I need to earn my way out of this shithole. Asahi, your place, at 7; sounds fair?”

“Whatever suits you.”

“Then I’ll be there at 8, I know you’ll be late anyway. See ya.”

Rin leaves Asahi groaning behind him while Kisumi and Makoto waves at him – but he’ll never see them, he’s already turn his back at them. Haru understands now why Makoto couldn’t really describe him, Rin isn’t someone who can be shorten to words. You have to live him to understand him.

“So are you okay?” Kisumi asks, a smile on his face. He must have figured out he was still thinking about Rin. “Quite wild, isn’t he?”

“Don’t fall for his big mouth, he’s actually the nicest person I’ve ever met with your big friend here.” Asahi says, showing Makoto with his thumb.

“He loves Disney movies and cries each time he watches one. Still. He’s 18.”

“The whole village knows him and gives him something when he passes by, like food or flowers for his mother or anything related to sharks-“

“He loves sharks.” Asahi cuts his friend Kisumi.

“You can easily guess what’s his favourite movie is then? Come one, have a guess.”

“Finding Nemo!” Asahi replies.

“Finding Nemo of course! Though I don’t think it is only because of the sharks’ scene…”

Then the two of them drop their faces to the ground, and Haru witnesses from the corner of his eyes Makoto doing the exact same, as if they had just said something wrong.

They went back to the lake after that, Haru stayed behind, he had his notebooks and they are things he wants to do alone – writing, drawing, he can’t do anything if someone spies on him. It’s still the beginning of summer, he’ll have all the time needed to understand what he doesn’t yet and to find out where the boy from the pier comes from. Haru spots Rin a couple of meter away, happily chatting with the lifeguard. He laughs again, hits the man’s shoulder and looks at Haru’s direction again straight into his eyes despite the distance. Haru is forced to look away. Did he notice him staring? Did he figure out he’s the one who stole a picture from him this morning? If he did, he didn’t let it appear. Haru will do exactly the same then, and the incident will soon be forgotten.

Haru hides behind his notebook. The second one, the diary. His mother insisted he needs to write down his feelings.

_‘8 th of July’_ he writes.

That’s a start. He won’t write his feelings yet, he’s not ready for that but for once there’s something he wants to put on paper before it goes away like the clouds in the sky.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
